Blu-Ray and HDDVD Vs. iTunes
 

I wanted to bring this upon here and get some feedback. I personally am not planning on making the move to a new DVD format. I just don't see the market moving that way. It seems to me that the medium that will take off is the online medium, for lack of knowing what to call it. Itunes has started selling movies and I have heard the BLockbuster is looking into an online access for people with media centers, to where you can access it online and watch it as much as you want for 48 hours. I have digital Cable and I can purchase a movie anytime I want with a few simple clicks.

If you take it from a cost perspective, it would be cheaper on the consumer and the manufacturer to not produce the DVDs and players and simply store the files on a site.

I see us as indie shooters, not exporting to DVD, but rather simply putting on a portable drive, so that people can put it on their personal media centers.

It just seems to me that the Blu-Ray and HD DVD is built for the companies, and not for the consumer and as long as they are taking to standardize their format, and as expensive as it is for the consumer, I think they are going to be overtaken by these other mediums.

What do you think?

Hello,

I agree with you saying that an online methods seems more logical and how it seems the industry is going, but I think the DVD is still very marketable to people.

I buy alot of DVDs purely for the special features and extras unavailable elsewhere as well as wanting to build my own personal library. So I think an online media server wouldnt suffice for this purpose.

I think the introduction of Bluray and HDDVD will support and develop on the current DVD market and, due to its size, thus quality, will make the experience of watching DVD's even more spectacular.

I honestly believe that no medium is providing the quality that consumers actually want.

iTunes provides h.264 video at 320x240 - great if you have an iPod, but as people start watching that on their TVs, 240p isn't that great. I've found that you can get away with 512x376 on a standard-def TV without people noticing distracting artifacts, but no smaller. And of course, it looks horrible on an HDTV.

HDDVD and BluRay are technologies designed to help the media companies, not the consumer. A properly compressed H.264 movie could fit on a dual-layer DVD in 1080/30p with negligible loss of quality. Sure, compression introduces artifacts but at the 1080p level, you're going to get compression artifacts with MPEG-2.

However, a Data DVD format doesn't really help the companies to sell new hardware, push a new format, and most importantly, push the HDMI cables that start plugging the analog hole. Again - neither format is in the interest of the consumers - it's only in the interest of the big companies.

Most people who watch movies on HDTV do so with upsampling DVD players.

In such a market, I think that people will stick with their DVD players and that until something comes along that provides a compelling reason to upgrade without an equally compelling drawback, DVD will remain the format to invest in for the future.

-- Brian Boyko
-- Editor, Network Performance Daily
-- http://www.networkperformancedaily.com

I do agree that the average consumer is not going to be making a switch anytime soon... but I also believe that when a change comes, it will be to the digital media centers. Itunes, Blockbuster, and the like wont be sending you h.264 format at 320 x 240. You'll get a full sized 1080 resolution. I don't think its going to happen in the next 18 mos, but I see wwithin the next 4-6 yrs. Processors are getting faster and faster, the market for media PC's is beginning to take off, and companies are already beginning to make a presence on the internet.

Bryon

I personally prefer the download model to watch "a movie".
iTunes is great for TV shows, and XBox currently offers downloadable HD movie rentals.

That said, there are many movies that I'm interested in getting a full package of extras along with the movie itself .. or enjoy so much that I'd like to watch over and over. For these, a physical media purchase makes much more sense.

Sadly, while iTunes TV show library is really filling out well, availability of HD movie content is still abysmal in any format. :p